In the face of a changing climate, cities are increasingly setting targets to lower their emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change. A particular area of focus for cities is decarbonizing the construction and operation of buildings. Because of the complexity of the challenge, international cooperation is vital to amplify success and encourage beneficial outcomes for cities as they transition.

Resources for the Future (RFF) and the Sweden-US Green Transition Initiative on Tuesday hosted the seminar on March 12 at 2:00–3:15 p.m. ET 2024 on the subject “Green Cities: Strategies for Decreasing Construction Emissions.” This event will focus on the obstacles to lowering emissions from the construction and operation of buildings and how to overcome them. In particular, we will focus on the role of procurement as a way to enable innovative solutions that accelerate the green transition. Speakers included: Linda Andrén, Sweden-US Green Transition Initiative; Anna Kadefors, KTH Royal Institute of Technology; Ida Karlsson, Chalmers University of Technology; Cliff Majersik, Institute for Market Transformation; Dallas Burtraw, Resources for the Future; and Alan Krupnick, Resources for the Future.

Please find a recording of the seminar here. You can find reflections and a summary of the main topics discussed here.